Using the Filter View

Looking for a set of topics that share particular characteristics? Interested in finding ones that have empty property fields you can complete? Want to create a special collection topics within one of your personal domains to share with others? Or maybe you just want a shortcut to topics of special interest to you that you can access from your default domain? Then the Filter Table View is for you!

When you view any type in Freebase, like Musical Artist , you'll see a list of all the topics of that type listed in a table view. At the top of each column, which corresponds to a property for that type, you can enter a value to filter the results. You can also add or delete columns to refine your results further, and even combine filters.  It's an easy and fun way to uncover interesting associations, examine data, and create collections of topics that are of special interest to you and others.

• Filter Table Interface Overview
• Filtering and Sorting Topics within a Type by Property Values
• Adding Topics to the Type
• Adding and Removing Property Columns
• Using the Advanced Filter Options
• Saving the Filter View
• Using or Exporting the Filter View
• Delegating Properties to Other Types
• Linking to the Resulting Filter View or Bookmarking It

Filter Table Interface Overview

Filtering and Sorting Topics within a Type by Property Values

1. Select a type, like Musical Artist.
2. On the type page you will see a table view of properties associated with that type, with each property corresponding to a column in the table, as well as a Type column indicating other types associated with the topics. NOTE : Not all the properties associated with a type will be displayed in the initial view. You can add or delete properties/columns as described in the next section.
3. In the text box above a column enter a value for filtering topics, then press Return to filter the topics. For example, in the Musical Genre text box you could enter Alternative Rock to view the topics with that value. Note that the autocomplete will only suggest values associated with that property. You can also enter values for each property to create combined filters. For example, enter Deceased Person in the Type column text box, and Rock Blues in the Musical Genre column text box, to see a list of deceased rock blues musical artists.
4. After filtering, click the property name at the top of the column to sort the results. For example, clicking Name will sort the results alphabetically by name.
5. Click the X next to the filter you created under Filters to remove that filter and return to the full topic list.

Adding Topics to the Type

After filtering the topics you may notice that a topic you expected to see is missing. For example, after filtering on a musical genre, you may notice that a band associated with that genre is missing. The filter view, in fact, is an excellent way to review the contents of Freebase for information that may be missing from existing topics, or for topics that have not been created.

There are two options: adding a single topic, or adding topics from an imported list.

1. Click Add new [type name] (for example, Add New Musical Artist ).
2. Select Add Topics to add topics one at a time.
   1. Enter the topic name in the text box and autocomplete will suggest existing topics matching the text.
   2. If you find an existing topic, click Add to add it to the type.
   3. If the text doesn't match an existing topic, a Create new button will appear. Click it and fill in the property information for the new topic. Note that the criteria you used for your filters will automatically be added to the corresponding properties in the new topic.
3. Select Import a list to add multiple topics.
   1. Click Go to the import tool to launch the import wizard. Follow the instructions within the wizard, and it will attempt to reconcile the names of the topics in your list against existing Freebase topics.

Adding and Removing Property Columns

1. Click the arrow next to Add columns to see a list of all the properties associated with this type.
2. Click a property name, like Role under Album Contributions , to add a column for that property to the table.
3. Remove columns by clicking the X next to the column name at the top of the column.

NOTE : Other types that are commonly associated with the type being viewed are also included in the Add columns menu. For example, Person and Musical Group are closely associated with Musical Artist. You can also add properties from these types, such as Date of Birth from the Person type, as a filter column.

Using the Advanced Filter Options

The Advanced Filter option lets you create filters that search on more than one value within the same property, or on parts of search strings within a property. With the advanced filter you can also use the is empty value to find topics that need data for a particular property.

1. Click Filter Results .
2. Select a property from the menu.
3. Select an operator (is, contains, starts with, ends with, etc.) for the property value.
4. Enter the value for the property.
5. Click + to add another property, or - to remove one.
6. Click Search.

Saving the Filter View

If you're the administrator of the domain where the type you just filtered is located, you can save your results to the domain homepage under Saved Views . This is a great way to provide users with a view of a popular collection of topics, such as Hard Rock Guitarists or Bands that Got Their Start in Los Angeles. If you're not an administrator for that domain, you can still save the view to your default domain. This is a handy way to create shortcuts to the topics that interest you.

1. Filter the topics.
2. In Save View As enter a name for the view.
3. Click Save Filter .

Your saved view will now appear under Saved Views on either the domain homepage or in your default domain.

Using or Exporting the Filter View

Filter results can be exported to several file formats, such as Excel TSV, Standard TSV, and CSV. You can also view the MQL query used to create the results. This feature is very handy if you are building an application to use Freebase data and want a simple way to create queries.

1. Click Use Results.
2. Select Download as a file to save to the various file formats.
3. Select See the query to view the MQL query.

Delegating Properties to Other Types

The Use Results menu contains a fourth option, Add to another type , that lets you delegate properties and topics from the filtered view to another type. The Delegated Properties topic contains more information and an example of how this works, but it's a simple process.

1. Add or remove properties from the view until you have the collection of properties you want to delegate to another type.
2. Filter the results until you have the collection of topics you want under this type.
3. Select Add to another type from Use Results.
4. Enter the name of an existing type, or create a new one.

For example, if wanted to create a new type called Hard Rock Guitarist, you would remove all the properties from the view except Also Typed With and Musical Genres. You'd then filter on Guitarist and Hard Rock, respectively. When it came time to Add to another type, you would enter Hard Rock Guitarist, and voila, you'd have a new type with collection of topics ready to go. You could then add new properties to that type, like Preferred Instrument, and start adding new topics as well.

Linking to the Resulting Filter View or Bookmarking It

After you've created a filter view you can create a link to it from within a Web page or blog, or add it as a bookmark to social networking and news sites like Facebook, de.licio.us, Google Bookmarks, Digg, and more.

1. Click Link to page.
2. Copy and paste the URL to add it to a Web page or blog.
3. Click Share ... More to see a full list of social networking and bookmarking sites. Follow the procedure from there for the specific site where you want to add the bookmark.